If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. Please email info@fightingrobots.co.uk if you have any questions.

-Now that there's just two of us, I can give Wedge Devo my full and undivided attention. A good strike on that front wedge could start warping it enough to make it harder for him to wedge me with it.

-If/when I can chew through that, I can start attacking the main body and hopefully get to his internals and score a KO on him.

-His 4mph speed advantage isn't overwhelming enough that keeping my bar pointed at him more often than not is not an unreasonable goal. If I can keep him away from my sides/back he'll have a harder time trying to wedge/flip/smother me.

No sense in playing fancy at this late stage. I'm going passive and ramming Ocelot into any wall, hazard or House Robot that crosses my path. I'm not fussed which; anything that stop that blade, chews that armour and allows me to get some control over proceedings. No flips unless most/all of that machine is sitting nice and comfortable on my wedge. I'm not risking a possible flip for certain pain. The longer my gas canisters stay in tact, the better. Repeat til one of us stops moving. Ideally, not me.

I'm also going to try and activate the Slot Machine as often as possible, ideally in mid-ram, and feed Ocelot to the House Robot. If they come after him, fandabbydozy. If they come after me, at least Wedge Devo goes out swinging and taking the Mickey out of Kody's kreations.

Thanks for sticking through to the end, gents. Quite a change from when I was hypo'ing tournaments repeatedly, eh? :P

Also, I seem to remember that the final would be 2 fights of 3 bots instead of an annihilator... oh well, doesn't really changed much seeing as I only started writing the final after 3 years. :P

And remember, Crash & Burn 6 sign-ups are coming! It will adhere to the new Robot Wars format of 5 heats, but with a few changes. If you're interested in that, please go ahead and enter. Might try and rustle up a few of the old crowd. Spread the word!

With that, let's look at how our finalists got here!

Wedge Devolution
- pulled off a judges' decision against Good For It and Truth or Consequences alongside Tengu VII
- flipped S.O.T.A.R. v2 against the arena wall
- flipped over Mobile Failure multiple times to eliminate it from the annihilator's first round
- survived while Flick of the Wrist dropped out in the second round
- again survived while Gehenna was axed into submission in the third round
- flipped over Black Panther while its weapon was damaged, to advance to the Grand Final!

Revolver Ocelot
- eviscerated Dantomkia and The Servant's Assistant alongside Psychosis
- dewheeled MiDAS' tires on one side
- took out Mobile Failure's axe and contributed to its first round exit
- survived while Flick of the Wrist dropped out in the second round
- again survived while Gehenna was axed into submission in the third round
- took out Black Panther's axe and contributed to its fourth round exit, then battered some house robots!

----

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... all two of you readers.

And for the final time, the klaxon sounds - it's time to knight a champion!

And pray tell, what would Wedge Devolution, our nimble little Scottish veteran, do in such a situation? The only thing he really can do - box-rushes! And pray tell, what would Revolver Ocelot, our plucky ol' American spinner, do in such a situation? Erm... spin that damn bar up, I say! Well, we have our classic spinner vs flipper match-up, and eventually the flipper reaches the spinner!!!

CRASH!!!

And there, there is first blood! The bar connected with the edge of Wedge Devo's spatula, and threw it aside, causing a slight bend! Both robots are spun about, but they recover relatively well! Because of Revolver Ocelot's wheels placed far behind the bar, however, Wedge Devo is able to recover first, and runs down Revolver Ocelot before the latter can make a chance to regain the speed the bar had just a few seconds ago! The slowed bar scratches the blue paint of the spatula, but does little else! Josh makes to j-hook his robot away, but Wedge Devolution is already under! FLIP! Revolver Ocelot is now an overcutter! Interesting... but what's more interesting is Wedge Devo suddenly reversing over the slots! Tails, Tails... Robotnik. Curses! Guess there won't be enhanced hazards for now. Wedge Devo charges the rather puzzled Ocelot again, taken aback at the momentary "retreat", and hurriedly tries to bury the blade somewhere in Wedge Devo's shell, but Steve's not having any of it! A minor shearing against metal and Wedge Devo's got Revolver Ocelot in his (relatively loose) grip again! But Steve has no plans of re-inverting Ocelot, memories going back to VFT6 when he flipped over Storm II and kept him that way! Instead, Wedge Devo makes a path straight towards Teresa the Serbian Nun, and one can almost hear the grinding of teeth as Josh knows what's coming...

...but it works against Wedge Devo - Teresa fires the bar, and instead of doing damage, the house robot knocks Revolver Ocelot away from Wedge Devo completely, allowing the spinner time to respin and regroup! Steve doesn't appreciate that one bit and wheels his machine around, intending to take out Teresa later, and instead puts the pedal to the metal, blazing it towards one revitalized Ocelot! But Revolver Ocelot is still an overcutter at this point, and it's unlikely he can really do much in this state. Wedge Devolution definitely isn't showing his age, as the veteran of veteran flippers crashes into Revolver Ocelot like a hungry Scotsman during St Luke's Day! And boy, does he eat that bar! Ocelot gets more of a hit than he thought he would, tearing into the top corner of Wedge Devo and sending both robots away again! There is a small gash in the Hardox, but nothing more, and Wedge Devo is as energetic as ever! A swift spin and charge later, followed by a light deflected blow, and... the slots have started again! Sonic, Robotnik, Tails. Another dud! Steve doesn't care - it's off to the other house robot, Hexadecimal, who hasn't gotten her screentime yet and is feeling very chaotic! The omni house bot moves in on Revolver Ocelot and...

Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake! If Revolver Ocelot could speak, there'd be a jumble of nonsense words running through its circuitry right now as the inverted rear wedge is severely torn up! Or would those words be "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"? Regardless, the hit has sent Revolver Ocelot away from Wedge Devolution again, and Steve is now feeling mightily smug; that 26-19 judges' decision from ARC: Armageddon that went Josh's way seems to be a mere memory by now! Wedge Devo gives chase again, and Ocelot really can't get it together here, as the overcutting bar makes a deeper cut into the previous gash and spins them both away, but it's not really done anything to Wedge Devo's internals at all, and Steve continues to ram and slam and wham away! Ocelot tries to avoid being wedged, but cannot! It's a futile thing, m'boy! Now it's back to Hexadecimal, but this time the house robot has her arms down, so Ocelot cannot be hit. This puzzles Steve, so instead he tries to take Ocelot away from Hex and to the opposite corner with the bumper... but Ocelot slides off the wedge! Is he free? Not quite! Hex still has her arms underneath the Team Blood Gulch entry, and starts to lift. Wide-eyed, Steve directs Wedge Devo back around before Revolver Ocelot can be turned right side up, and manages to do so. Problem is, Hex can still tip Ocelot over like that, so Wedge Devo fires the flipper and Ocelot tumbles into the corner... right-side-up! Well that's still not good for Steve, but it's also not good for Josh, as he's at the house robot's mercy! The problem? Hex pushed her arms into the ground, effectively grounding herself so she can't move! Before she can raise them again, Ocelot's off like a shot; Wedge Devo tries to jump him, but only gets a corner and tilts Ocelot around; Ocelot's minor hit deflects off the side skirt, but this gives him more time to spin up!

Now rather worried, Steve directs Wedge Devo to drive directly at the American spinner, hoping that the spatula will direct some of the blow. Unfortunately for Steve, the bar is so wide that it doesn't really matter that much, and with another colossal CRASH!!!, Ocelot's bar connects with the previously, slightly bent spatula and now causes a major warp, as well as pinging the two finalists apart again! Wedge Devo goes flying over the slots... Sonic, Sonic, Sonic! It's go time! And everyone can hear the bumper revving up at incredible speeds! Ocelot meanwhile nearly sent itself into the arena bumpers, but thankfully avoided them! Noticing the warped spatula, a now slightly panicked Steve rushes his robot towards Ocelot again! However, it seems the tides have turned in the favour of Revolver Ocelot! CRASH!!! Another major hit, and now the spatula is good and well cooked, curled up and removing most of the wedgeability of the Scottish flipper! On the other hand, Ocelot has been truly pinged into the wall, and is now staring directly at Wedge Devo's side, not spinning! Steve, quickly, takes the initiative and turns about as Ocelot tries to get away, but it's not happening! Wedge? Nope, not a wedge this time, Steve m'boy! But the ram did stop the bar from spinning up, and Steve hurriedly tries to make use of the bumper again... uh oh. Precisely what Josh didn't want! He twists and turns, but there's no stopping Wedge Devo now!

CRASH!!!

It's a major, major hit, and one of Ocelot's wheels is just GONE! It's away, bouncing across the arena floor, and some of the armour around the wheel is gashed up and ripped apart as well! But the other major point is that it separated the robots again, and Ocelot's still able to get the bar up to speed! He's a feisty one, he is! Steve thought his work was over, but it clearly is not! Josh is still hanging in there! Steve doesn't know if he can take another blow to the front and instead opts to shove his rear into Ocelot's bar instead! Unfortunately, it doesn't work out at all in his favour! Not only does Revolver Ocelot rip the damned thing right off, but his bar barely stops, and now the ground clearance underneath Wedge's rear is exposed! Now Steve is practically forced to use the front end again, and what he feared comes to pass - the bar takes the already battered spatula and rips the thing straight off! But you know what that does? It stops Ocelot's bar again and spins the pair of them around! This time, Wedge Devo is able to use his rear end to sort of wedge Revolver Ocelot and starts pushing him towards the hammer hazard! Ocelot, with only one wheel on the ground since his de-wheeling, struggles to escape, and as they reach the hammer he barely slides out of Wedge Devo's way! But Wedge Devo merely turns, slips straight under the stalled bar, and... hoo boy. Ocelot's inverted again! Looks like the tides have turned yet again!

10...9...8...7...

But were they quick enough? The final is winding down! Now in control again, Wedge Devo hurriedly tries to get Ocelot back to the hammer, but Ocelot's really trying to wiggle away... and then Wedge Devo loses control completely! Ocelot's free to spin up!

6...5...4...

Like a freight train, Wedge Devolution slams into Revolver Ocelot's back, hoping to do something of substance, but now the bar's back at full killing speed!

3...2...1...

With a great heave, Ocelot turns... and turns...

CRASH!!!

CEASE!

And just as the match ends, Ocelot catches the exposed top corner of Wedge Devo and rips into completely open, peeling off the front panel surrounding the flipper!! Steam's coming from the Scottish flipper, but that's the match! It's over!

Aaaaaah... it's been a while since a final was decided by judges' decision, hasn't it? Well, this is it! Judges, you have a lot of work to do!
----

Strategy
Wedge Devolution - 5 * 1 = 5 (stuck to his plan; used the slot machines, AND the house robots to great effect. Full marks)
Revolver Ocelot - 3 * 1 = 3 (kept his front pointed at Wedge Devolution like he meant to; unfortunately he couldn't act his plan out fully)

Style
Wedge Devolution - 3 * 2 = 6 (flips were stylish, but they weren't too often since Steve wished to protect his flipper. The ones he got were amazing)
Revolver Ocelot - 4 * 2 = 8 (the audience loves sparks and damage, and each major hit Ocelot made was spectacular. The minor ones, not so much, but you can't go completely wrong here)

Control
Wedge Devolution - 4 * 3 = 12 (remained in control through most of the match, but slipped up near the end. Collapsing like that after having your opponent lose a wheel is not good)
Revolver Ocelot - 2 *3 = 6 (was pretty much knocked everywhere for the fight, but regained his footing near the end by causing major damage even after losing a wheel)

Aggression
Wedge Devolution - 4 * 4 = 16 (he box-rushed, he tried to make sure Ocelot's bar didn't spin up that much. While he failed somewhat, he still was relentless and that's hardly failing the aggression category)
Revolver Ocelot - 3 * 4 = 12 (hits are a sign of aggression, and boy did he get a lot of hits. Unfortunately he wasn't going after his opponent much actively, merely focusing on keeping the bar pointed, and let Wedge Devo come to him. He still gets aggression points, but not as much as his opponent)

DamageWedge Devolution - 3 * 5 = 15 (delivering your opponent to house robots and hazards has to count for something. A lost wheel? A damaged rear end? Yeah, Wedge may not have directly done the damage but that's still big points)
Revolver Ocelot - 5 * 5 = 25 (did a LOT of damage, rendering Wedge Devolution's wedging ability next to nothing and then ripping open the front panel at the end was intense)

Many thanks to those who entered, and a massive bunch of 'em of those few who actually stuck around to see the end of the tournament. Don't look for me to start any more tournaments here, though. For personal reasons, any tournament I run will be hosted strictly on ARC. I hope you understand.